Equalizing truck-mounting for electric traction-cars.



P. N. JONES. EQUALIZING TRUCK MOUNTING FOR ELEGTRIG TRAGTION CARS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18, 1908.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

P ST AVAILABLE COPY ,[UN ST T S PEARL 1v; Jones, on PIIISlBLURG,PENNSYLVANIA. i

To all whom/it may COILCH'IL.

TENT onr on.

Be-it known that I, PEARL N. Jones, a citizen of the .United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Alleghenyand State F Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Equalizii'ig lruck-l\/Iountings for Electric TractioirCars, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention refers to improvements in ear trucks, more particularly the trucks of electric motor driven cars, and it has for its object to provide a construction adapted to equalize the pressure on the truck due to the dead weight of the car combined with the varying effect of the motors and gear ing in service, to produce equilibrium and resulting equal division of the weight on the front and back wheels, with'resulting equality of traction.

Theinvention is particularly adapted to four motor e uipments, two to each truck, but may be u ilized to advantage with single truck cars of four wheels only.

In a four motor equipment, during quick acceleration, that set of wheels nearest the front end of the car is most liable to slip, and the third set also frequently slip, but the second set very seldom and the rear wheels almost never slip. This condition is especially noticeable in connection with outside hung motors used with trucks of short wheel base. This is due to an unequal distribution of the combined weight and pressure on the four axles, under the customary practice of mounting the car body on bolsters midway of the trucks and of the motor centers, and is due to two reasons, to wit: First. The motors, due to their torque, cause a lifting of the front end of the truck and a corresponding depression of the rear end, throwing the excess weight or pressure on the rear axle and wheels. Second. The overcoming of the inertia of the car in starting transfers weight: a, from the front to the rear truck, and b, from the front to the rear axle of each truck. I have found in practice that the difference in pressure at front and back is excessive as shown by actual tests. Thus 1n an ordinary car having trucks of four feet six inches wheel base each equipped with two outside hung standard 50 H. P. motors having gear ratios approximating four to one, the down pressure on the rear Specification of Letters eaten."

Ap,1 tion filed september 18, 1908. Serial No. 453,594.

I portions of .the truck in ratios Patented Apr, 5; 1910.

axle at starting exceeds thabonthe front axle by-ifour' thousand pounds, due solely to the action of themotors withBOO 'amperes passing throu h them. I

\Iy' inventiolrconsists inso mounting the carbody on the trucks andiinsuch relation iii) to-the motors. gearing and axles, thatthe bearing point shall be "so positioned --as to exert pressure through the front and rear adapted to counteract the effects noted.

In the drawing accompanyingthe speciiication I show a front truck and a'portion of a car, with the axles, gearing and motors of the outside hung arrangement.

The pinion 2 of the front motor engages the teeth of wheel 3 of the front axle, in front, and pinion 4 of the rear motor e11- gages the teeth of wheel 5 of the rear axle, at back, in the manner shown. The result of such mounting is that as the pinions commence to revolve in starting, they first tend to climb on the teeth of wheels 3 and 5 respectively, z'. e., upwardly on teeth of Wheel 3 and downwardly on teeth ofwheel 5, and before the car isstarted, excessive upward pressure is exerted on the front of the truck as indicated by arrow a and similar c ownward pressure on the rear of the truck, as indicated by arrow 6, the combined effect resulting in the aggregate of both pressures being. transferred to the rear axle and wheels. To counteract this effect, and to so distribute the weight of the car through the truck that it will normally exert an excess of pressure on the front axle and a reduced pressure on the rear axle corresponding to the uplifting and depressing effect of the gear action on these axles respectively, there by equalizing their pressure and wheel traction, the supporting center 0, c, of the truck and its bolster is located in front of the normal midway center (Z, (Z, a distance sufiicient to effect such result. Thelocation of the center will be controlled by the conditions of weight, proportions, currents, etc., and the center should be so located that it will constitute in effect a fulcrum between the long and short arms of the truck which in turn are affected by the varying pressures, and thus operate to balance them and dis tribute the load therethrough under the recognized laws of leverage.

The advantages of the invention will be appreciated by all those familiar with the construction and operation of street railway gearing connecting said motor with the rear 'cars. It results in better and equal traction;

"and ru'nning, particularly on grades; and

overcomes the strains and distortions due to unequal distribution of power in starting axle, anda supporting bolster having a bearing for the car body and located transversely of the truck. forwardly of the normal middle position between the axles whereby the weightlof the car normally exerts less pressure on the back axle than on the front and whereby the normal pressure on the back axle is abnormally increased in starting the car due to the torque of the motor.

2. In a car truck, the combination with the car body, of the truck, front and back axles therein having supporting traction wheels, an outside-hung motor 1n front of the front axle, gearlng connecting said motor with the front axle, a supportmg bolster 7 having a bearing for the car body and located transversely of the truck forwardly of the normal middle osition-between the axles whereby the weight of the car normally exerts less pressure on-the back axle than on the front, an outside-hung motor behind the rear axle, and gearing connecting said motor with the rear axle whereby the normal pressure on the back axle is abnormally increased in starting the car due to the torque of the motor.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

PEARL N. JON ES.

Witnesses C, M. CLARKE, CHAS. S. LEPLEY. 

